[DISCONTINUED] Articatix [Alfea Academy Fanfiction]

Chapter 3 - The Majestical Universe

Estelle sat alone on the bench by the Skating Rink, putting on her skates and tying them up. They were white figure skating ones. Although she didn't like to dance, she enjoyed the thrill of the freedom of her movements on ice. It was completely natural, as if her skates were merely an extension of her body, fully functional and flexible. 

Today a few members of the original Catix Club had gotten into a fight with Essix, and just being near them cause Estelle a great headache. She had slipped away in the middle, heading here, to the ice rink. 

She combed a hand through her hair before stepping onto the ice. It had just been cleaned, with not a single mark on its smooth and sleek surface. She closed her eyes and moved. Even without needing to see, she could accurately determine where the walls were, when she should turn, and how much she should turn. 

Without her needing to consciously think about it, her body moved according to memory, her movements flowing into a dance that she had performed countless times when the rink was empty. 

Strangely, there seemed to be something pulsing from within the ice, energy waves that could only be felt by one with a high sensitivity to the ice. Estelle paused, relaxing her entire body to better allow the current to flow through. 

There. 

She opened her eyes and slid over to the pinpointed location of the source of the magic. It was at the very center of the rink, imbedded deep into the ice. She kneeled and placed a hand on top. A warm current seeped into her body from the point of contact, and the energy waves grew stronger. 

Above her hand now floated a key. It was made of gold. The blade was constructed of curled pieces with four aquamarine jewels embedded along the bottom. The bow part had two swirls curling inward with what looked like a crescent moon on top. The center of that crescent was an aquamarine gem shaped almost like a shield. Hanging from the two swirls were tiny chains of jewels.

Beautiful, was her first thought.

Majestix Key! was her second thought.

She recognized it as the ice key that she had seen in the book about the transformation of Majestix. Lilly was the first to find a key, the fire key. She had discovered it in the Alfea forge. The blossom key was Kaora's, who noticed it when she was in the greenhouse. Next was Rosella's nature key in the forest. Then it was Winter finding the water key. Not too long ago, Dongli had found her star key in the Alfea courtyard. All that was left was the wind and moon keys, as well as Ana and Lucia. 

This is pretty interesting, Estelle thought as she clutched her key.

"Are you coming to the club meeting today?" Rosella asked, stopping Estelle in the corridor. 

"Maybe, depending on if anything comes up," Estelle responded. 

"You always say that!" Rosella protested.

"Things happen," Estelle said, attempting to walk past her.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" a voice said from behind them. 

"Katy," Rosella huffed, staring down the new arrival.

"Yes." Katy lifted her chin. "Rosella."

Estelle's mouth twitched. Why was she stuck in the middle of such a conflict? The tension was nearly tangible, and it seemed the two would not relent until the other fell. 

The students nearby shifted backwards, whispering. With her advanced senses, Estelle could hear clearly what everyone was saying. "It's those two again."

"They're always in conflict."

"Who's the girl in the middle? She looks familiar."

"She's the other leader of the newly-created Articatix Club. Her club—what was it called again?—joined with Catix."

"Oh, Estelle Dusk, right? Isn't she the girl who always scores first place in class and in competitions?"

"Yeah. How come we didn't recognize her?"

"That's really strange."

"Maybe you should talk about people further away from them. She might be able to hear us."

"It doesn't look like she can, don't be so over-obsessive."

"I mean, if it were me there, I'd be too anxious to even bother with anything else."

"I feel so bad for her."

"Why? She probably deserves being there. Why else would those two close in on her?"

"Estelle, move aside," Katy said, taking a step forward. She didn't take her eyes off Rosella.

Estelle glanced at the headmistress and slipped away.

Since she just got her ice key, Estelle decided to enter the Majestical Universe, an alternate realm only accessible when one has one of the keys. She was in her dorm room, alone. She held her hands up into the form of an "X" and said, "Articatix, Majestix."

A white light enveloped her and her entire outfit changed. She was now wearing an outfit similar to her enchantix but with hints of red threaded into the fabric in an intricate pattern. Her wings were just as large as her enchantix, and they had a frosted pattern on them. They chilled the air around them such that snowflakes began to form. 

She held out her key and held it in front of her, as she'd seen Rosella and Lilly do. A large portal-like door appeared, a mixture of light blue and a fiery red, though currently, the blue far overpowered the red. Cryo magic and its opposite, pyro. 

The key turned into an amulet which she hung around her neck—underneath her outfit—before stepping through into the alternate universe. 

She fell straight down. She was high in the air and dropping at an incredibly fast rate. She spread out her wings to slow herself down and landed perfectly in what looked to be Alfea's Courtyard. 

"Woah! Who's this?" a girl with a familiar voice asked. Estelle paused. That sounded very much like her own voice, except higher-pitched. "Ooh! You look so much like me! Same face shape, same eyes, same hair colour, same height—"

"Estelita, you're overwhelming her," a tall and muscular man said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

So I guess she's my counterpart in this universe, Estelle thought bitterly. 

"I'm Estelle, and I'm from the Magical Universe," she introduced.

The girl, Estelita, jumped up and down. "Ohh, you're from the Magical Universe? That's so cool! Not too long ago there were a few other girls who came, who also came from there! Do you know them? They have such similar names to my friends. What were they called again? One of them was named after a flower. Peony? No, I don't think so... I think it starts with an R... Rondeletia? Rosemary? No wait, rose! Now what's her actual name? Why is remembering names so difficult? Okay, here we go. Rosaline? Rosalind? Rose..."

"Rosella?" Estelle asked with a raised eyebrow.

Estelita perked up. "Oh! You know her? She's apparently 

+ = - = +

February 26, 2024 (Reupload date of all the previously written parts)

This is the end of everything I'd written for the first version of this story. This part was originally never published, as I'd never finished it. Since it's been way too long, I have no idea what's meant to happen, hence why it cuts off abruptly. I had also originally unpublished all these chapters in preparation of rewriting the whole thing, but ended up giving up halfway through the first chapter instead. I will still publish the unfinished rewrite of the first chapter, for anyone who is curious. 

I've (re)published all these parts because I am someone who loves nostalgia. I found myself looking for stories written by other members of the Articatix featuring our characters, and it was so much fun to read. So, I want to make this story available again so other people (particularly members of the Articatix) can read if they want to, even if the writing is old.